Ron Howard Teases 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Offers Audiences a Rebellious '70s Vibe

Solo: A Star Wars Story will bring moviegoers a tale as rebellious as its roguish leading man with a 1970s vibe, director Ron Howard tells The Star Wars Show.

"Larry and Jon Kasdan wrote this fantastic script and using the Han Solo character it sort of pushed things into an adventurous direction," Howard said.

"It's kinda almost got a little '70s feel. That rebelliousness, that recklessness, and so that's informed a lot of the action and informed the way scenes are staged, the way the action's cut, the way it's shot, and I think you feel that in the trailer as well."

Howard adds "the trailer's a really good reflection of the movie," which looks to be part western, part sci-fi, part buddy cop comedy.

"It's one of those circumstances where proudly I can say it suggests a lot of feelings and ideas and possibilities of ways that the movie can really entertain the audience."

That tone is reflective of Solo himself, and it's "the duality of the character," Howard says, that has kept the space pirate scoundrel popular with fans for more than 40 years.

"The idea that he's out for himself, he's got an outlaw spirit and code on one hand, but he can't quite live it and walk it because he doesn't entirely feel it," Howard explains. "The duality is he's a great guy and he hates that about himself."

Despite its gorgeous, gritty cinematography, Solo "has a lot of fun with the characters," the two-time Oscar winner says.

"And when I say fun, you know, there's a lot of humor, there's a lot of action, there's a lot of excitement, and that is fun. But also part of the fun is identifying these qualities in Han and also the characters around Han, so the relationships really shape him."

Its unique vibe gives it a different feel from classic Star Wars, but this standalone is less focused on the 'wars' and more focused on the 'what' this wider conflict means to a younger and still-forming Han Solo.

"I think it's kind of a classic journey and a little different from Star Wars in that it's true to the galaxy and the spirit of it and what we know and understand of it, both tonally and in terms of the Empire and the power that controls things, but this isn't about a giant war," Howard says. "This is much more focused on, 'what does all of this mean to this young guy?'"

Starring Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Joonas Suotamo, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, and Paul Bethany, Solo: A Star Wars Story opens May 25.